I'm sitting in the ancient environs of the House of Lords library listening to loud snoring from various quarters. But despite the snoring I'm confident the Lords will shake themselves into action shortly. After all, the last time the Government's Legal Aid bill came before this House we defeated it not once or twice but 14 times. It's not really because the House of Lords is packed with revolutionaries. It's because the Government's changes to Legal Aid are extraordinarily reactionary, disgraceful, and hit the weakest the hardest. And on top of that, the Government have broken the promise they gave us, which helped them get other amendments through.

Liberty, which has campaigned for years on access to justice, says that if today's business is passed it will "dramatically reduce access to legal aid for individuals seeking to challenge an administrative decision through Judicial Review," and that "Judicial Review is woven into our constitutional fabric as a core means by which the Courts can hold public authorities to account... Changes proposed will work to undermine an original legislative commitment to retain legal aid for Judicial Review."

The long and the short of it is that you can't have a functioning democracy if courts, on behalf of ordinary people, can't hold public authorities to account. So even if the argument around this debate sometimes sounds techy, it is fundamentally about whether individuals have protection under law when they are treated unfairly. Add this to fact that legal aid is being stripped from people just as they face the most savage cuts to their welfare – in areas of benefits and housing for example – and you see a picture of misery building up for those at the bottom.

It shouldn't surprise us that the Government used its Legal Aid reforms to attack the weakest. But it might surprise some that the Lords has slapped the Government down. Yes, I'm back in the library at 7pm, a few minutes after voting, and the text message I was hoping for has just come through from Labour's Opposition Whip's office: "Government lose by 10 votes (201 to 191). A great and historic success. Thanks to all who stayed so long." It's not a very parliamentary term, but I can't help writing whoop whoop! Roars have momentarily drowned out the snores. And while so much else of this dispicable legislation remains in place, at least the Lords has told the Government it must think again.

"If you want to know how to tackle inequality at home and abroad, then this is a must-read report. Here's what the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children, Brendan Cox, has to say:

A new report from Save the Children ‘Born Equal - How reducing inequality could give our children a better future,’ looks at how rising inequality hits children hardest. This trend has accompanied economic growth in all countries, and could be tackled in the post-2015 development agenda.

If you're struggling with post-Olympic blues, here's the answer: a night out opposite the Olympic Park to see an iconic new musical, set in Stratford. It is a melange of culture, an explosion of colour, and an epic story line set alight with extraordinary singing and dancing. It is Stratford meets Bollywood. It is quintessentially London. I went to the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games just a few nights earlier, and Wah! Wah! Girls honestly equalled the stunning finale of London 2012 for spine-tingling vibrancy. If you couldn't be in the Olympic Stadium, do yourself a favour and get down to Theatre Royal Stratford before September 29th.

Idris goes to Parliament

Questions in Parliament

I knew Jo because we both worked for the Kinnocks, we both worked for the Browns, we both worked for Labour Women's Network - which Jo Chaired - and we both had a habit of ending up in refugee camps.

In the run-up to Jo's election as an MP, she told me my diaries of Westminster nearly put her off. "Thing is", she said, "I know my constituency would never cause me as much grief as yours." This is the only thing Jo was wrong about.

Empowering women means giving them the practical tools to escape poverty and prejudice. Around the world, including here in Britain, a baby girl’s life chances are disadvantaged in comparison to her brother’s at almost every turn, and once she becomes a woman the disadvantage becomes entrenched.

Baroness King of Bow (Lab): My Lords, the online world is the real world for digital natives. That is exactly what worries so many of us. However, we would be doing our children a huge disservice if we viewed their online interactions in only a negative light. In fact, for many young people, the internet is far more likely to be a place of opportunity. The internet will bring them opportunities that generations before them could only dream of.

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DIVERSITY - IS IT BETTER TO BE MIXED RACE?

Sometimes being mixed race is like having a cloak of invisibility. The most remarkable hour of my life came when I put on a head scarf and went out alone to witness riots on the 'Arab street' in the Gaza Strip in June 2003. If the thousands of young Palestinians had known I was a Jew with an American and British passport, and an MP to boot, at best they would have kidnapped me, at worst killed me on the spot.